CINCINNATI -- Felicia Thornton -- recently named group vice president, retail stores, by Kroger Co. here and charged with the responsibility of identifying and coordinating "best practices" throughout the company's more than 2,200 stores -- told SN she expects to finds synergies in diverse corners of the Kroger corporate empire.

Last year, when Kroger acquired Fred Meyer, Inc., Portland, Ore., the company said it expected to realize hundreds of millions of dollars in synergies. Synerg